Getting a roommate in your golden years

New York

LIKE many older Americans, Shazzi Felstein recently found herself in an unexpected financial bind. About a year ago, she noticed that her savings had dwindled. To her horror, she realised that her monthly Social Security cheque would not cover her rent-stabilised one-bedroom apartment in Chelsea and monthly expenses like utilities and food for much longer.

A former computer systems analyst, Ms Felstein, 73, had always saved as much as she could and had enjoyed relatively stable finances. That changed in 2011, she said, when she lost about US$80,000 in retirement savings after investing in a company that turned out to be guilty of fraud.

The owners of the Massachusetts-based Inofin Inc, a subprime auto loan company, swindled hundreds of investors, and the company entered into involuntary bankruptcy. Ms Felstein has been unable to recoup her money, although the company's founders pl…